'Frank and fearless' review ordered into NSW Labor head office

The role of NSW Labor general secretary would become more like a chief executive and be required to meet key performance indicators, and the party’s powerful administrative committee slashed in size, under a reform proposal for the party’s troubled head office.

Former federal attorney-general Michael Lavarch will deliver a report on NSW Labor’s best path to reform within a month, after he was appointed to lead a "frank and fearless" review into the party’s governance and administration.

Announcing the review on Sunday, federal leader Anthony Albanese and state Labor leader Jodi McKay said the role of general secretary - the most senior post within the party administration - needed to change.

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“The culture whereby the general secretary makes a directive and people fall into line needs to change,” Mr Albanese said.

Ms McKay said the ongoing corruption inquiry into NSW Labor’s head office had revealed there was “far too much power vested in the general secretary”.

Former NSW Labor general secretary Jamie Clements leaves the ICAC after giving evidence this week Credit:AAP

One proposal advocated by the Left faction, of which Mr Albanese is a member, is to professionalise the general secretary position, with an employment contract and a clear statement of duties.

Currently, the role of general secretary is appointed by the party's annual conference, and is governed by the NSW Labor Party rules rather than an employment contract.

The Left is also pushing for the top job to be removed from factional influence by requiring the position to be filled by a person appointed by a three-quarters majority of the administrative committee, the party’s governing body, which it wants to see significantly reduced in size.

The duties of the general secretary and role and structure of administrative committee will the key focus of the first stage of the review, which Professor Lavarch will conduct in two parts.

Mr Albanese said he expected to the first tranche of recommendations in November, and flagged the intervention of the party’s national executive to implement any structural changes “straightaway”.

Mr Albanese said he would not pre-empt the findings, but he was critical of the size and function of the Administrative Committee on Sunday, saying there was “clearly a problem with oversight”.

“Sometimes if you want to make a body undemocratic, make it bigger because then there's less accountability there as well,” Mr Albanese said.

The administrative committee currently comprises 48 members including party president Mark Lennon, the general secretary and other party office holders, senior union officials, as well as rank-and-file members.

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It is responsible for managing the party’s finances and has the power to appoint people to fill casual vacancies in the Senate and NSW upper house.

The second part of the review will examine the party’s compliance with electoral and donation laws, including its fundraising activities and training provided to branch officials and candidates.

The Herald revealed last Monday that Professor Lavarch had been the front runner to conduct the long awaited review to examine not just the structure of the organisation but the culture of the infamous Labor machine.

Ms McKay said since 2015 the party had improved its governance but the recent ICAC hearings had exposed "serious shortcomings in the party".

"It's time to let the sunshine in," Ms McKay said. "This is about establishing a new era for transparency and accountability as we move into the 2020s."

Mr Albanese said he expected a "frank and fearless review to fundamentally change NSW Labor Party office culture", adding Professor Lavarch would be “unencumbered by any vested interest” as he hailed from outside the NSW branch.

"There is something fundamentally wrong when people running a political party office think its normal to behave in this way," Mr Albanese said.

During seven weeks of public hearings the ICAC heard former general secretary Jamie Clements was handed an Aldi bag containing $100,000 from controversial billionaire Huang Xiangmo during an April 2015 meeting in the ALP's headquarters in Sussex Street in Sydney. Mr Clements has denied Mr Huang was the source of the cash.

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His successor Kaila Murnain was suspended indefinitely as general secretary in August after she gave evidence to the ICAC that she had kept quiet for three years about an illegal donation.

Ms McKay said the party would not appoint a new general secretary until the review was complete.

“[T]here will be no appointments for the general secretary, until we have a firm definition around the roles and responsibilities, and indeed how this position works within the broader party structure,” Ms McKay said.

Professor Lavarch said: “This can be a watershed moment in terms of ensuring that the NSW branch meets the highest expectations of all party members.”

Dr Stephen Mills, a senior lecturer in political science at the University of Sydney, will assist Professor Lavarch with the review.